


Supporting Characters in SPN

by yourlibrarian



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Hunters & Hunting, Meta, Season/Series 02, Season/Series 03, Sidekicks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 23:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6775468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlibrarian/pseuds/yourlibrarian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Writing about <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/6774667">characters of the week</a> and families in an earlier post made me want to take a look at the issue of recurring characters in SPN.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Supporting Characters in SPN

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted June 1, 2008

Writing about [characters of the week](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6774667) and families in an earlier post made me want to take a look at the issue of recurring characters in SPN.

One of the things I realized during discussions on my last post is that other characters on SPN have yet to be there for any reason other than to somehow function on Sam and Dean's behalf. And this is as true of the antagonists as the helpers, because I mean that in a story sense. No other characters, including Bobby, really have any separate POV in the storyline. We get a little of it with Jo in No Exit and even less with Bobby in Dream. But these characters aren't here to build an ensemble and expand the verse much or we'd learn more about them and the SPN world in general (witness how little we can say about Bobby after 3 seasons and how much of that has been extrapolated from a few facts most casual viewers wouldn't even remember). 

I think a prime example is the case of Ellen in AHBL. The entire burning of the Roadhouse is done, not from her POV, the person most affected (given Ash isn't around for the afterparty), but from Dean and Bobby's. Granted this gives us the element of surprise and also suspense at knowing what happened to Ellen. Her sudden appearance in Pt II was well-timed given that I wasn't even thinking of her just then. However this could have been done in other ways. Supposedly she's just as surprised, returning from her restocking run to find the place in flames. We might also get a better explanation this way of what actually happened since Bobby and Dean turn up to have the fire somehow out, the corpses so burned they can't recognize them (the stench should be incredible) but cool enough to walk around in and yet there's no sign the police or fire departments or anyone else has been there yet. Also, they're looking for Ellen but don't think to try her cell phone? Had Ellen actually been important as a character in her own right, this would have been an logical scene to have from her POV (and I think you could still build surprise and suspense into it). So, given that these characters are here merely to serve the script and the leads, what functions might future ones have? 

I had no particular opinion about Bela or Ruby coming into S3, and didn't understand why anyone would feel strongly one way or another. Even if they had been intended to be love interests as many feared, I didn't think that would be surprising given the expected seasonal arc. If Dean was going to start a relationship, it was now or never, and if he did then it would likely leave Sam even more isolated over the season, hence a relationship of his own. And this was an issue that got addressed early on with Lisa in TKAA. In fact, it seems to me that this is one of the few places that the show can actually take Sam and Dean's relationship in the future –- still close but more balanced due to the inclusion of other people. We've already had the "learning to work together season", and the "trying to save you" seasons (one for each Winchester). In S4 one possible relationship plotline would be the "getting to know you again" one, where Dean and Sam, affected by their individual experiences, have to rerun S1 only with a bigger dose of "what's going on with you?" And then what? It seems to me the only possible answer is "more distanced."

Now this could also happen because Sam and Dean essentially become uneasy enemies and one of them ends up dying for good at the end of the series, either in battle or because one of them's trying to redeem the other all along. Bleak but a workable plot IMO, and after the fan reaction in S3, more likely than Sam and Dean letting other people into the mix. The show started out as a family tragedy; I think there would be a certain sense of closure with that kind of ending. I also think it's a plausible conclusion because the way Sam's destiny arc has been dragging out so far, all this delaying must be leading up to something. If this is in fact the series ending intended, then I would expect that recurring characters would appear to further highlight their separation in intent and character. And in this sense Ruby worked to some degree but I don't feel Bela ever did. 

I've read some good points about how Bela provided a negative mirror to Dean this season. This makes sense given how Bela was introduced ("a great thief" "I'm Batman") and then used again with Dean in Red Sky and the deal storyline, which we discover at the final hour (no pun intended). However along with the, I think, justified complaints that Bela was made to seem competent by making Sam and Dean less so, and that she somehow got a free pass after egregious acts you wouldn't expect them to forgive, the problem is that Bela did nothing to reveal more about Dean or Sam than we might have already seen, nor to drive them apart from one another. Bela was really just a distraction who wasn't well integrated into episodes past BDaBR. She might have worked fine had she been around since S1, popping in for 1 or 2 episodes per season, but I don't think she really serviced the season's arc well. 

For example, I was just watching Roadkill this morning and thinking what a good episode it was. I was thinking specifically of Ghostfacers too, because at one point Molly says they're like Ghostbusters, and really most of the ep is an outside POV told from her perspective, which I found a fascinating idea. I mean everyone grasped that this was an episode with a twist, where the mystery is revealed as the story unfolds. But I thought, "What a cool idea that they're looking at Sam and Dean from the _ghost's_ POV!" I mean in a small way we saw this in Bloodlust, but it's so intentional here. Of course, just like Mystery Spot was a twist on Groundhog Day, Roadkill is a twist on "Ghost" (the character is even named Molly). There she is, trapped by her fears for her lover, having been killed by the guy she thinks is out for her husband. Of course in Ghost, Patrick Swayze is trying to keep Molly safe so she can move on, but in Roadkill, the husband has long moved on, leaving Molly to the mercy of Greely. (Which if you ask me, makes perfect sense, since in the 2 minutes we saw him I thought he was an ass and wondered why Molly cared so much). The real hero here is ~~Whoopi Goldberg~~ Sam.

And I thought it was a wonderful episode for him. It showed everything I love about the character -- that earnest compassion, the way he balances Dean, the way he reaches for understanding. The story is structured well too. Whether one is taken in by the mystery or not, we can learn about both Molly and Sam and Dean as things spin out, and Molly herself helps solve her case. She also highlights a divide between the brothers, even while bringing them together in the resolution. Their argument is about means, not ends.

If we look at Bela though, I don't really see something like this happening. For example, I think one reason I was surprised by Sam's dream of her in Dream, is because it was startling to realize Sam thought of her at all. For whatever reason, Bela always seemed to end up dealing with Dean, as if Sam couldn't even be bothered, even though they both met her at the same time. (By contrast, Dean doesn't meet Ruby until halfway through the season, and she has a very obvious reason to be dealing with Sam). Yet even though Ruby has some key scenes with Dean, I can't remember another scene where Sam interacts with Bela solo. Other than the writers wanting to write them together though, there's no clear reason within the story why she always deals with Dean. 

Ruby doesn't highlight divides between them so much as exploit them. Howeve,r I don't think she was as effectively used as she could have been. The first effect she has is to create secrets. How and why and how much Sam tells Dean about her though is never clear, and if he ever tells Dean about the Mary angle, we certainly don't find that out. She then offers them tactical advantages, by refurbishing the Colt. How does Bobby feel dealing with a demon, or about her usefulness to Sam, Dean and other hunters? We never find out. Not even in Sin City is the issue brought up and I believe Bobby doesn't ever meet her again. He is in on discussion about her in No Rest but again offers no opinions. She brings Sam and Dean's disagreement to a head in Malleus, and at first it appears that, as in Roadkill, Dean is willing to go with Sam to a degree on his way of dealing with a supernatural creature that appears to be harmless. One could argue that by having possessed someone, Ruby can't be called harmless, but also given her usefulness so far, that perhaps killing her off isn't really merited either. It isn't until Jus that it becomes obvious that while Ruby may or may not be causing wider harm (we've no idea what she's up to outside of her few scenes) she's certainly not concerned about casualties. And again she causes a division between Sam and Dean regarding tactics, but despite the episode's end it's a weak point in that given circumstance. Finally, she's the cause of Sam's continuing refusal to employ or even test his abilities in the finale, not because of Sam's unwillingness but because of Dean's opposition to her personally that makes him rule out her options. It's possible that had she presented different options to them that Dean might have been on board, but who knows. The way it was written it certainly seems as much personal as tactical.

Gordon and Henriksen bring different things out of Sam and Dean -- similar but with different endings. As I was mentioning in a comment on my previous SPN post, Gordon's role in the show is pretty consistent from his first to his last appearance. Although it was made particularly clear in the way he behaved once he was turned, from the first episode Gordon is both ultra-controlled and a loose cannon. I don’t know if it was in the script notes or it was just an acting choice by Sterling Brown, but I thought it was a great decision to play Gordon as essentially a soldier just doing his job, carrying out orders. Of course Gordon doesn't actually answer to anyone except himself, and he really doesn't seem to accept that he has choices in what he does. This comes out in Hunted, where Dean tries to reason with him about killing Sam and Gordon tells him: " But that's not what this is. This isn't personal. I'm not a killer, Dean. I'm a hunter. And your brother's fair game. " As Dean tries to point out to him, no boundaries have been crossed in terms of what Sam, or Scott, have done. But to Gordon, the boundary is the state of their humanity; as psychics they're already of dubious status to him (good thing Missouri never ran into him). So little wonder that when he himself becomes not-human, there is no hope for him. He seems to be oblivious to the fact that he had a choice about hunting Sam in Hunted, and he still has one in Fresh Blood. Sam, however, makes different choices in all three episodes. In the first he actively opposes Gordon, but lets Dean have free reign with him at the end. In the second he fights Gordon himself (obviously he has little choice with Dean tied up) but stays Dean's hand, finding another solution. And in the third, he goes straight for the idea of killing him, even as Dean tries to appeal to Gordon's hunter instincts. Gordon, while being remarkably the same in all three episodes, garners different reactions from the two brothers in each encounter, while still contrasting them. 

When Henriksen is (temporarily) taken over by a supernatural being, he does not, like Gordon, continue in his same pattern. While Gordon's single mindedness gave the lie to the idea that he was utterly changed, Henriksen's brief experience serves to make him consider other possibilities. He does not lose his professionalism in the pursuit of a personal vendetta, even though his conversation with his boss makes it clear that the Winchesters have become quite a personal issue to him. He reevaluates the situation, and tries to make the best decision to suit the circumstances. And, as his talk with Dean reveals, Henriksen really is a soldier in a larger war, with superiors to answer to, and partners and associates to deal with; with personal commitments he has tried (and apparently failed) to keep; and with achievements that are small and must be shared with others. His life is, in fact, quite a contrast to Gordon's. Gordon has made his own rules and sees them as immutable. Henriksen has to follow the rules of others. Gordon, presumably, has seen himself as making a difference. He's a true believer in his work and in his fitness to carry it out. Henriksen isn't a believer, he's just doing his job. So even though his view of the world, if not his much maligned quarry, has been turned upside down, he gets with the program and carries on. 

Dean, too, has had one shock after another dumped on him since the series began. His father has gone missing, then seems to have deliberately abandoned them; then his brother begins developing strange powers; the family is torn apart when his father dies (deliberately, and for Dean no less); it seems like Sam's got some awful threat bearing down on them that he's helpless to know how to fight; Sam dies; he's going to die and go to hell; and it looks like Sam's slowly becoming someone else. But as he tells Henriksen, what else can he do but keep trying and hope? What is unspoken here, but more clearly stated by Dean in later episodes is a third caveat "And not lose myself in the doing of it." Henriksen is a good example. To keep his principles and protect others means allying himself with enemies in a battle that's not even his. But he does it. Contrast this with Gordon in Hunted when he tortures a demon for information about Sam:

DEAN: And what happened to the girl it was possessing?  
GORDON: She didn't make it.  
DEAN (shaking his head) Well, you're a son of a bitch.

Protecting people wasn't really part of Gordon's mission statement. Perhaps, like psychics, he felt the possessed were tainted by association. Of course in Time, we start out the episode watching Sam and Dean torture a demon for information about Dean's deal. He also doesn't make it. Did Sam and Dean already know the victim was dead? We're not told, but human protection has always been part of Dean's mission statement.

Henriksen, like Bela, seems to be particularly focused on Dean. And here we see some parallels in the way that supporting characters are used. The more human oriented they are, the more likely it is they deal primarily with Dean. If they're supernatural-oriented they're likely to be dealing with both with an emphasis on Sam. So we see Ruby, Gordon, and the Trickster all dealing with Dean but focused on Sam. And we see Bela, Bobby, and Henriksen dealing primarily with Dean with Sam on the periphery even though he's usually present. I think a particularly interesting case is Jo in S2. Sure, she's attracted to Dean so there'd be a reason to spend more time with him. But she and Sam have very little interaction until he's possessed in BUaBS. Interestingly, the first time they have much of an exchange is at the end of No Exit, as she stands with Sam to see the sewer entrance filled. She's crossed the line there into being a hunter, and has gone out into that life when he next runs into her.

Of course, one would assume Bobby is plenty supernatural oriented, being a longtime hunter. And Bobby certainly provides that sort of support to them both. Yet for whatever reason, he is closer to Dean. It kind of makes me wonder how much Bobby had known about Sam and the YED before we first meet him in S1, and if his falling out with John had anything to do with that. But I'm going to guess that the main reason we see this is that Bobby also plays a familial role -- it's a human connection he has to them, and that seems to be Dean's camp. 

There are only 4 scenes I can think of where Bobby and Sam talk alone. The first is in IMToD, where Sam meets with Bobby about the Impala and John's list. Given that we could have had a scene with Bobby in the hospital room with both Sam and John, I'm going to count this as significant that they're alone. Interestingly, they are also dealing with a very familial issue, Dean's future. They're talking about the Impala but it's really about Dean. We then don't see Bobby again until BUaBS, when Sam shows up possessed – so their solo exchange isn't really Sam talking with Bobby (and even so the first question is about Dean!). Bobby deals with them equally in Tall Tales, but has all his significant exchanges with Dean in AHBL 1 and 2. Sam and Bobby talk again in M7, and again it's about Dean, and then the case. We don't see Bobby in TKAA but they're talking about Dean again. In BDaBR and Sin City, again all Bobby's talks are with Dean. 

They then have a brief exchange in Dream, where Bobby asks Sam point blank about his powers. It's the first time Bobby is talking to Sam about Sam, and it's specifically about how he may not be completely human. We then see Sam again with Bobby at the end of Mystery Spot. Of course in their actual meeting it isn't Bobby but the Trickster. I'm assuming though that the phone calls we hear are actually Bobby, but we find out that Sam isn't talking to him and hasn't been for months. We finally see Bobby again in No Rest, but despite the importance of the issue at hand, and his insisted involvement with it, Bobby doesn't weigh in on the argument. Instead he implicitly supports Dean by agreeing to look for other solutions. It's kind of fascinating to me that in this entire season, although we twice see Sam and Bobby specifically discussing his efforts to help Dean, there is no scene of the two working together on the problem, or any scene where we see Bobby reaching out to Sam in an emotional way about his feelings on the matter. We may yet get that in S4 now that Dean's dead, and I'm going to be very interested to see what that reveals.


End file.
